How To Grow A Venus Flytrap

If you are wondering how to grow a Venus Flytrap, and if you can do this, the simple answer is Yes!

The Venus Flytrap plant is one of the easiest, and most fun, carnivorous plants to grow and take care of.

Whether you grow the plant from seeds, or if you buy potted plants from a specialty gardening supply warehouse online, there will be some work involved, but as the Venus Flytrap plant grows and matures, you will find that the plant pretty much cares for itself.

The Venus Flytrap plant is a hardy, North American carnivorous plant. Growing a Venus Flytrap is relatively easy. You just have to keep a few key growing tips in mind as you care for your flytrap.

For the purposes of this article, I am going to assume that you are interested in how to grow a Venus Flytrap plant that you either purchased from an online gardening supply center, or that you purchased a Venus Flytrap from a large commercial "box" store such as Wal-Mart. If you are interested in learning how to grow Venus Flytrap from seeds, then read our instructions which you can find by clicking here.

In this website you will see constant references to the native climate and growing conditions for Venus Flytraps. If you want to learn how to grow Venus Flytrap plants, then mimic the growing conditions of the southeastern United States.

And as we all know, the southeastern United States is not the tropics. It is hot and humid, but only in the summer. It is cold in the winter, and even experiences freezing weather and light snow! Keep this in mind as you care for and grow your Venus Flytrap.

Tip#1: First Things First

First, if you bought your Venus Flytrap plant from Wal-Mart or another big box store, then your first step is to throw away the instructions that came with your plant. If you follow those care instructions, your Venus Flytrap plant will die!

Sorry, but it is simple as that.

If, however, you bought your Venus Flytrap plant from an online specialty gardening center, and if that online gardening store dose nothing but cultivate and sell carnivorous plants, then I would trust the instructions that come with the plant.

Tip #2: Prepare Your Pot

Secondly, prepare a new container for your Venus Flytrap plant.

Your plant came either with bare roots, or it came in a pot. You should replant and repot your carnivorous plant. Be sure to use plastic or non-reactive pots such as glazed ceramic pots. Don't use cement, concrete or other pots that may leach alkaline minerals to the soil.

Tip #3: Prepare Your Soil

Third, prepare your soil by using a soil with a 50/50 mixture of peat moss and sand.

Do NOT use soil or sand from your back yard. Do NOT use commercial potting soil. Do NOT use anything but standard peat moss and sterile sand.

Why?

Because Venus Flytrap plants are unlike other plants you have ever grown. These plants prefer their soil acidic and very low in nutrients. If you plant them into good nutrient rich soils like you use to grow your garden vegetables, then your Venus Fly Trap plans will either die or perform very poorly.

Don't do it. Get the right soil for your plant. You will be glad you did.

Tip #4: Replant Your Venus Flytrap

Fourth, plant your Venus Flytrap so the top of the bulb sits even with the soil. Take this opportunity to trim off any black leaves. Use a clean pair of scissors to do this.

Tip #5: Venus Flytraps Need Sunlight

Fifth, locate your flytrap plant in lots of sunlight.

Look for a place that gets full sun to at least fifty/fifty percent sun and shade. Don't however, immediately stick your plant directly out into the full sun. Your plant should be slowly exposed to full sun over a period of a couple of weeks. You want to "harden" the plant and get it used to the full sunlight.

Tip #6: Keep Soils Moist, Not Wet

Our sixth tip on how to grow Venus Flytrap, is to keep the soils moist.

Not wet. Not saturated, but moist. Use distilled water or rainwater to water your flytrap plants. Unless you live in the middle of the Arizona desert, don't worry about humidity. Just worry about keeping the soils moist.

Tip #7: How to Feed Your Venus Flytrap

Seventh, feeding Venus Flytraps is easy.

Don't!

Let them do the work! I know that it is tempting to want to drop a piece of raw or cooked hamburger into a Venus Flytrap trap, tickle the hairs, and watch it feed. But Venus Flytrap plants digest whole insects, not meat. They are not meat eaters.

If you feed meat to your Venus Flytrap plants, you run the risk of inducing mold, mildew, or bacteria from decaying meat. And if you expose your plant to these diseases, your plant may die. So just let your plant do its thing, and catch insects on it's own.

And that is it!

Growing Tips Summary

My advice on how to grow Venus Flytraps is centered on trying to replicate the natural environment that a Venus Flytrap lives in - the southeastern United States.

Give your new potted Venus Flytrap plant, nutrient poor but well draining soil, lots of sunlight, keep the soils moist with distilled water or rainwater, and your carnivorous plant should thrive for many years.

If you follow my tips on how to grow a Venus Flytrap, you will have a long lasting, thriving Venus Flytrap for many years to come.

15 Responses to How To Grow A Venus Flytrap

Hi Mike. I live in the southeastern U.S. and get to see these awesome plants in their natural habitat. Even though we live in the sunny southeast, the plants are in the woods and don’t get full sun. I think you mentioned about hardening them so they can take full sun.

We bought our plant at a Whole Foods in spring. It’s July and it appears to be going dormant. Is that possible? Hoping it isn’t dying already. I think we’ve watered and sunned it correctly. But, we do need to repot it.

I found myself amazed at my own ignorance, really. I was raised on a active Farm with horses and all sorts of other critters and all the things that come with that, went to 4-H, have has a Garden since I moved out of my Parents home. I really thought I knew something about growing plants, especially since I seem to have a new found ability to grow Violets, which, I believed until I was 52 years old was a plant that only my Grandma could grow. I so appreciate your article and am so thankful for my procrastination at least once in my life. I am most Thankful for your education here today and will read the Growing Tips as soon as I finish writing this. Thanks Mike. Sincerely Deb

All I can say is that we are all learning about the world around us. Carnivorous plants are fascinating plants to grow and take care of. I also thought that I knew something about growing plants – until I first tried growing Venus Flytrap plants, and failed. They died. Rather quickly. And tried again. And failed. Only after I finally decided to spend some time on research and asking questions, did I learn the secrets of growing these amazing plants.

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favorable review or recommendation of a product that I think is terrible or fails to deliver on its promises. - Mike

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